Foot accelerator for carburetors



Feb. 23,1926. 1,574,311

E. W. SAUNDERS FOOT ACCELERATOR FOR CARBURETORS Filed Dec. 15, 1924 EDWARD W. SAUNDERS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

F09! ACCELERATOR FOB CAB-BURETORS.

Application filed December 1 '0 all whom it may conceal:

Be it known that I, EDWARD W. SAUNDnRs, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Foot Accelerators for Carburetors, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to foot accelerators for automobile carburetors, and has for one of its objects to provide an inexpensive foot accelerator that can be easily installed on a Ford automobile.

Another object is to provide a foot accelerator for carburetors which is so designed that it constitutes an elevated support on which the operators foot can be normally maintained in a comfortable position in proximity to a carburetor controlling device that can be operated by sidewise movement of the operator-ls foot in one direction and in proximity to a foot pedal on which the operators foot can be positioned by side wise movement in the opposite direction.

Figure 1 of the d awingsis a perspective view of portion of a Ford automobile equipped with a carburetor foot accelerator constructed in accordance with my invention, showing said accelerator arranged at one side of the brake pedal and operatively connected with the carburetor of the automobile.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of said foot accelerator.

Figure 3 same; and

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional View, taken on the line sd of Figure 3, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

I have herein illustrated my invention embodied in a foot accelerator for Ford automobiles, because it is particularly adapted for use with such automobiles, owing to the fact that it can be manufactured and sold at a sufliciently low cost to bring it in the class of Ford accessories, and it does not require the services of a skilled mechanic to install it. I wish it to be understood, however, that my invention is not limited to a foot acceleratorof the particular construction herein illustrated or to a foot accelerator designed for use with Ford automobiles.

Referring to the drawings which illusis a side elevational view of 15, 1924. Serial No. 755,976.

trate the preferred form of my invention, A designates the carburetor of a Ford automobile, and B designates a controlling element that is connected with the throttle valve of said carburetor by a link 1. Said controlling element is carried by a footrest C and is mounted on said foot rest in such a manner that it can be moved in a direction to open the throttle valve of the carburetor by a sidewise movement of the operators foot which is normally positioned upon the foot rest C. Said foot rest C is arranged at one side of a foot pedal D and is so disposed with relation to said pedal that the operators foot can be engaged with said pedal by a sidewise movement of the operators foot in the opposite direction, namely, away from the carburetor controlling element B.

In the embodiment of my invention herein illustrated the foot rest C is formed of a flat strip of iron bent to form two spaced uprights 2 that are joined together by an inclined portion 3 on which the operators foot is normally positioned, said uprights being connected to the inclined floor boards of the drivers compartment by fastening devices 41- that pass through flanges 5 at the lower ends of said uprights, and said uprights being of such length that the inclined portion 3 of the foot rest will extend flush or substantially so with-the foot engaging portion of the pedal D when said pedal is inits normal raised position. The carburetor controlling element B previously referred to preferably consists of an arm that projects upwardly from a rock shaft E throught an elongated slot 6 in one edge of the inclined portion 3 of the foot rest C. The rock shaft E is oscillatingly mounted in the uprights 2 and is providedwith an angularly-disposed arm 7 to which the link 1 is connected, said shaft E being acted upon by a coiled torsion spring 8 that normally exerts 1 ressure on said rock shaft in a direction to hold the controlling element B in a vertical or upright position in engagement with the inner end of the slot 6 in the inclined portion 3 of the foot rest.

To install the accelerator it is only necessary to arrange the foot rest C at one side of the pedal D, secure said foot rest in position by means of screws or other suitable fastening devices 4: that are inserted through holes provided for same in the flanges 5, then form a hole in the inclined floor boards to receive the link 1 and then connect the end of said ,link to the arm 7 on the shaft E. In using the accelerator the operators foot is normally rested upon the inclined portion 3 of the foot rest C, in which position the operators foot is in sufliciently close proximity to the carburetor controlling element B and to the foot pedal D to enable one of said parts to be actuated by a sidewise movement of the operators foot in one direction and to enable the other part, namely, the pedal D to be engaged by a sidewise movement of the operators foot in the opposite direction. If desired, the foot piece of the pedal D can be provided at the edge remote from the foot rest C with an upwardly-projecting lug 9 so as to prevent the operators foot from slipping off said pedal when it is shifted sidewise off of the inclined portion 3 of the foot rest C. Accordingly, the operators foot that is used'to control the carburetor and the brake of the vehicle is normally positioned upon the inclined. portion 8 of the foot rest C between the two elements B and D which are controlled by' with Ford automobiles, it is preferable to construct the foot rest C from a piece of strap iron bent into the shape herein illustrated and equip said foot rest with a spring-actuated rock shaft that is provided with two angularly-disposed arms, one of which can be connected by means of a link with the throttle valve of the carburetor and the other arranged in such a way that it will project upwardly through a slot or opening in the inclined portion 3 of the foot rest.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A foot accelerator for carburetors, comprising a foot rest arranged at one side of a foot pedal that can be engaged by a sidewise movement of the operators foot positioned on said foot rest, and a carburetor controlling device on said foot rest arranged so that it can be engaged and actuated by a sidewise movement of the operators foot in the opposite direction.

2. An accelerator for carburetors, comprising a foot rest provided with an elevated portion on which the operators foot is adapted to be positioned and arranged at one side of a pedal in sufliciently close proximity to same to enable said pedal to be engaged by a sidewise movement of the operators foot in one direction, and an oscillating carburetor cont-rolling element on said foot rest arranged so that it can be engaged and actuated by a sideWise movement of the operators foot in the opposite direction.

3. A foot accelerator for carburetors, comprising a foot rest adapted to be arranged at one side of a foot pedal and provided with an upwardly-inclined portion that is disposed longitudinally of the operators foot, a carburetor controlling element projecting upwardly through said inclined portion and arranged so that it can be engaged and actuated by a sidewise movement of the operators foot in one direction, and a resilient means that exerts pressure on said controlling element and tends to hold it in a certain position.

4. An accelerator for carburetors, comprising a stationary foot rest adapted to be arranged at one side of a foot pedal and provided with a portion on which the operators foot is positioned said portion being disposed longitudinally of the operators foot, a rock shaft carried by said foot rest, and two angularly-disposed arms on said rock shaft, one of said arms being adapted to be connected with the throttle valve of the carburetor and the other arm projecting upwardly through the portion of the foot rest on which the operators foot is positioned and arranged so that it can be actuated by a lateral movement of the operator's foot.

5. A foot accelerator for carburetors, C0111- prising a foot rest formed from a piece of strap iron that is bent to form two standards or uprights connected together by an inclined portion on which the operators foot is adapted to be positioned, a rock shaft mounted in said standards beneath said inclined portion, a controlling element projecting upwardly from said rock shaft through a slot in said inclined portion, and an arm on said rock shaft to which a carburetor actuating device is adapted to be connected.

6. Inan automobile, the combination of a brake pedal, a foot rest arranged at one side of said brake pedal and provided with a portion that is disposed at substantially the same angle and level as the foot piece of said pedal, a spring-actuated rock shaft on said foot rest provided with a controlling element that projects upwardly through the portion of the foot rest on which the operators foot is positioned, and an arm on said rock shaft that is adapted to be connected with the throttle valve of a carburetor.

EDXVARD W. SAUNDERS. 

